Question about all the GYPSY revivals- Page 3

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/25/20 at 1:39pm

fashionguru_23 said: "A grain of salt on a Michael Riedel article? You mean, Bullets Over Broadway isn't still running? ahahaha"

Now, now, no need to be cruel. It's still running somewhere... perhaps in his head...

[David10086]

Posted: 6/26/20 at 11:00pm

Thank you all for such informative responses about the revivals. Now I wish I had seen Lupone in 2008-09! The Peters revival I’m glad I missed.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/27/20 at 12:45pm

FWIW I much preferred the Peters production to the LuPone. As much as I wanted to love the latter production, I was just exhausted by the end of it because of its insistence on blowing the subtext up to 1,000 and essentially being miserable - AND LOUD - with each other for close to three hours. Peters' production I found much more real in a sense because it was the production where you can see how intoxicating Mama could be, whether by nature or her design, and how Herbie could fall in love with her. Also I found 
the orchestrations to much more snazzy in Peters' production. 

[David10086]

Posted: 6/28/20 at 12:15am

Yes I could see how three hours of Lupone as Mama Rose could be exhausting for the audience.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/30/20 at 11:38pm

I just got around to watching Leslie Uggams’ STARS IN THE HOUSE and she said that there were plans for Bernadette to take the show on the road and Arthur Laurents wanted her to take over the Broadway production. None of that ended up happening, I assume for economic reasons.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 7/1/20 at 1:47pm

Having read Richard LaGravenese's screenplay for the abortive Barbra film, it's interesting to note how many cues he takes from the Peters production (including Dainty June's infamous cigarette)...

(That was an invitation, you're not imagining it. Shoot me a DM.)

Updated On: 7/1/20 at 01:47 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/1/20 at 4:31pm

David10086 said: "Thank you all for such informative responses about the revivals. Now I wish I had seen Lupone in 2008-09! The Peters revival I’m glad I missed."

Big mistake...just go back and read the NYT review for one.  

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/1/20 at 4:39pm

OlBlueEyes said: "I'll just throw in that Gypsy has a spectacular score, and is of the era when I should be most favorably disposed towards it, but I have just never liked the Rose character or cared what happened to her.

I do love hearing Merman belt out "Everything's Coming Up Roses.""

And that is why I think Gypsy has never REALLY been a huge hit.  Avid theatre fans yes, John Q Public, not so much.

[David10086]

Posted: 7/2/20 at 11:19pm

Jarethan said: "David10086 said: "Thank you all for such informative responses about the revivals. Now I wish I had seen Lupone in 2008-09! The Peters revival I’m glad I missed."

Big mistake...just go back and read the NYT review for one. "

 

I did read the NYT review, but I’m going by the reviews of the forum members. They’re not too good for BP. 

 

[tmdonahue]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 8:47am

Barry and Fran Weissler are strong marketing producers.  Their revivals of Grease and still running Chicago have been brilliantly promoted.  Not that Chicago wasn't great  in the theater to start with.  One thing they've been brilliant at is replacement casting and for these two shows, a kind of stunt casting: movie and TV personalities in a limited-run, small role.

As to the Tyne Daly Gypsy, IMHO her's was the first take on Rose that was acting.  She frightened me.  I understood, therefore, the actions of both her daughters. I thought, When is Herbie going to have enough of Rose and leave.  I had always thought the act I closing number, "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was a celebration.  With Daly--not just in that song but in her whole performance--I saw that it was a threat.  Couldn't wait for the second act.  Patti Lupone is a wonderful singer and a great performer for certain types of roles--Evita [!], Sweeney Todd revival, Master Class, the gender-reversed Company which I lucked into seeing in London--but didn't bring much as an actor to Rose.  Great singer, yes.

Opinions are as plentiful as blackberries...to mutilate a Shakespeare pun.

[binau]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 8:58am

I’m still not 100% convinced about Patti’s Rose’s turn but I personally find her line readings at the start of ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’ to be quite thoughtful and then the whole scene is downright scary because her Rose is so desperate and excited with Louise and Herbie petrified. You can just feel the dread in them as they watch her. And then of course it is sung so brilliantly. Whereas if I listen to the Tyne recording it’s hard for me to feel that ferociousness because the vocals just aren’t there - it does seem to be a performance that needed to be seen.

On the other hand, Ethel Merman’s performance sounds more like a musical comedy performance than a dark scene. So it’s hard to ‘get’. Even Arthur said in his book he wonders how people would perceive her in the role today. The standards of acting in this role have gone up.

Bernadette’s performance at this moment was also more on the ferocious side but she didn’t have Patti’s vocals here. 
 

Updated On: 7/3/20 at 08:58 AM

[goodlead]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 10:45am

Agree.  Agree!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 11:29am

tmdonahue said:
 "As to the Tyne Daly Gypsy,IMHO her's was the first take on Rose that was acting. She frightened me. I understood, therefore, the actions of both her daughters. I thought, When is Herbie going to have enough of Rose and leave. I had always thought the act I closing number, "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was a celebration. With Daly--not just in that song but in her whole performance--I saw that it was a threat. Couldn't wait for the second act."

You've perfectly captured everything I felt when I saw Tyne Daly in the role. 

I've seen Daly, Peters and LuPone. Peters and LuPone are tried and true Broadway legends so when they took on the role there was a certain level of excitement because you knew those two were going to "deliver the good" in one way or another. But with Tyne Daly it was a whole different situation. She wasn't a tried and true musical performer. She had recently come off a long stint on CBS' "Cagney & Lacey" - the casting at the time seemed to come out of left field. It was unprecedented. Many had their doubts.

Boy, did she show us! She silenced many a naysayer. She was a true revelation in the role! The whole production was absolutely glorious. It is easily one of the best Broadway productions I have ever, ever seen. 

I love the film version for many reasons - and the main one is my undying love for Miss Natalie Wood but I have to acknowledge the extremely underrated and multi-talented Miss Crista Moore who was excellent as "Louise/Gypsy" in the Daly revival. Her second act transformation into the world's most famous ecdysiast was nothing short of phenomenal! I get goosebumps just thinking about it! Sex just oozed from the stage of the Marquis when she did her strip routine!

Benanti was very good. Blanchard didn't do it for me...AT ALL and Cynthia Gibb in the 1992 Midler telefilm was merely adequate.

 

 

[binau]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 1:19pm

I completely forgot that the Midler version even existed Zzzz.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 1:44pm

(Mildly off-topic: anyone who accepted my "invitation" got a "response." I know the icon is little, but check your DM, people. Literally no one has opened theirs yet. On with your regularly scheduled thread...)

[darquegk]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 1:54pm

I want to see Alison Janney as Rose. The woman hasn’t struck out yet, and though I’m sure she’s no Patti as a vocalist, we’ve certainly seen that you don’t HAVE to be.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 2:58pm

darquegk said: "I want to see Alison Janney as Rose. The woman hasn’t struck out yet, and though I’m sure she’s no Patti as a vocalist, we’ve certainly seen that you don’t HAVE to be."

AllI can say it, 'please God, no'.  Plus, it is never going to happen; who is going to invest money to star Alison Janney as Rose?

[David10086]

Posted: 7/3/20 at 5:56pm

tmdonahue said: "

As to the Tyne Daly Gypsy,IMHO her's was the first take on Rose that was acting. She frightened me. I understood, therefore, the actions of both her daughters. I thought, When is Herbie going to have enough of Rose and leave.I had always thought the act I closing number, "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was a celebration. With Daly--not just in that song but in her whole performance--I saw that it was a threat. Couldn't wait for the second act. 
Opinions are as plentiful as blackberries...to mutilate a Shakespeare pun."

I agree with you 100%. This is exactly how I felt about Daly’s performance. And a big reason I never saw Peters or Lupone after. For me, Daly was Mama Rose. 

[bryan2]

Posted: 7/5/20 at 7:59pm

Linda Lavin was not very good as Rose...(fyi she played at the at.james not the marquis...Gypsy was at the marquis when they brought it back with Tyne...apparently it was going to London and all set then the desert storm war or some war came and halted all travel so they just did it in the marquis...)...I still think Tyne was much better than Patti. Tyne had warmth and anger..you liked her then you felt she was pathetic....Patti was one not the entire show..loud..

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 7/6/20 at 10:46am

after reading 3 pages of this Gypsy info i am so glad i saw the ANGELA LANSBURY revival when it played the now gone Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles before coming to its sold out Broadway stint!...SHE WAS GREAT!!...and i felt no incentive to come to NYC to see any other Mama's